Put A Ruffle On It

I was sitting with my writing sojourning friends at our August meeting in a Subway restaurant, and I happened to look out the window and saw this. While I was getting my phone out to snap the picture, Val, our fearless leader, said I must have a special gift to see rainbows. I had never thought about anyone having any special ability that gave them a sensitivity to rainbows that others didn’t have. But then I thought about the other pictures I had taken of rainbows, and thought, maybe I do.

The first snapshot of a rainbow happened when I walked by my back door and glanced out the window. I did a double take. I called my son to come look, and then I either had him snap the picture (because his phone is ALWAYS with him), or I had to go get my phone. Anyway, I snapped the picture.

I had never seen a rainbow this low to the ground. If I had gone out there I feel like I could’ve touched it. I regret not trying to get a picture of me or my son standing under it, because there, in the middle, is a path that leads to a field. It made me think it was a portal of some kind. What was this telling me?

And then one day, on my way home from work, I passed by my church and had to quickly put on the brakes and pull into the parking lot. Thankfully, no one was behind me.

I had not, at this time, learned that my phone’s camera has a panorama feature that would have allowed me to get one good shot of the bow that went from one side of the church to the other. So I had to take several. They did not do it justice.

And then one evening, as my son and I came home, we pulled into the driveway and saw another rainbow. Using the Pano feature, I was able to capture it in one shot.

I will count it a wonderful blessing to see rainbows. There are so many hurting people out there that need to see rainbows in the midst of the storm and turmoil in their lives.

Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne.

[ The Angel and the Little Scroll ] Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars.

During the election season I was given a free copy of a book that was being re-released. I intended to blog about it, even though it was an opposing viewpoint from my own. I was willing to write the author’s assertions and then state the reasoning for my position.

But I got to one chapter that made me sick to my stomach. I could not in good conscience lead anyone to read this book, which essentially said that abortion helps to lower the crime rate.

First of all, I thought that in our courts we are innocent until proven guilty. I suppose that is the case, unless you’re in your mother’s womb. Then you’re guilty if your mother says you are. With no evidence. And no crime.

In our legal system, we rely on evidence. And sometimes science plays a large part in bringing the evidence to light.

DNA was first used in criminal cases in 1986. Since then, innocent people have been set free after serving a prison sentence for crimes they didn’t commit. And, likewise, people have been found guilty after years of no evidence.

Cold cases have been solved. Simply from analyzing the DNA.

In 1973 Roe v Wade was decided before the Supreme Court of the United States based on the argument that a woman should be able to have an abortion because it was her own body.

However, if the DNA was analyzed in that excised part of “her body”, I think we’d find that it wasn’t her body at all.

The DNA evidence would suggest that this was in fact, another person. Another body. Another crime victim.

The Youth Leaders in my church took our youth to see The Case for Christ at the Palace Pointe theatre when the movie was first released.

I loved it and told others to go see it.

Then I had the pleasure of meeting the screenplay writer of the movie, Brian Bird, at the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference where he taught us how to write screenplays.

He is also an executive producer for the show, When Calls the Heart, on the Hallmark Channel(which I love). Needless to say, I had to take a selfie with him.

I saw this review of the movie and had to laugh(My last post is also a video from this same man, David Wood, who you’ll find in the book Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi). I think Mr. Bird would be pleased about this review.

The movie is out on DVD now. GO GET IT. I’m thinking of buying several copies to give away.

BTW, I love movies with Christian themes. Yes, even the low budget ones.

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6.

I have spoken before about my son’s seizure disorder. I’m so blessed that medication works for him. We had a recent scare when we were half-way to the beach and realized he had left his pills at home. Not wanting to turn around, I called our insurance provider and his doctor to get his prescription called in to a pharmacy near our resort. We had to get the generic version because the brand would have costed $1100 for a 30 day supply. For the few days at the beach we thought we could get by with the generic.

Anyway, because my son has a disorder dealing with the brain, I have studied aspects of the brain I would not normally study.

The brain is fascinating.

I’ve learned about brain plasticity and seizures and tumors, etc. But with all that knowledge available about the brain, scientists are still baffled by some things that happen there.

I ran across this video by someone who had no regard for right or wrong. He would have been labeled a Psychopath.

I hope you watch it to the end and then read the rest of my post.

I would say that this man had a criminal brain.

BUT

He met the creator of that brain.

AND

SUPERNATURALLY

His mind was made new. Transformed.
I don’t know if he had MRIs before, but I know he has a different brain now.
Romans 12:2New International Version (NIV)

2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Ephesians 4:21-24New International Version (NIV)

21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

I’m reading a book I heard about on the Home and Family show on the Hallmark channel.

It seems the book has the answer to cure everything–cancer, autoimmune disorders, diabetes. For the most part, I believe it may just have the answers for many ailments.

In The Plant Paradox, Steven R. Gundry, MD explains that food we think is healthy, is really not. Like tomatoes. I love a good tomato biscuit with butter. Yummy. But the way we southerners eat it, it is not so healthy. It contains Lectins which is part of a plant’s defense mechanism. Lectins are bad and can be found in the seeds and the skin of the tomato, and in the gluten in the biscuit and in many of the staples in our pantries.

If I feel that strongly about the book, then I should be telling people about it. Especially those that may be hurting with disease.

I should shout, “read this and be healed”. But instead I will tell a few friends and family who may think I’m crazy to believe a book to be the answer.

And yet, a Book is the answer.

There are those who will immediately know where I’m going with this post. Because you know the book I’m talking about.

I’ve told the young people in my church that this book has the answer to everything if you just search for it.

Like this morning, it just so happened that my daily reading through the book of Psalm was this:

Psalm 103:2-5Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

2 My soul, bless the Lord,

and do not forget all his benefits.

3 He forgives all your iniquity;

he heals all your diseases.

4 He redeems your life from the Pit;

he crowns you with faithful love and compassion.

5 He satisfies you with good things;

your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Did you get that? He heals all your diseases. In the New King James Version, verse 5 says, He satisfies your mouth with good things and your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
So, here I am, shouting from the top of the blogosphere, “Read this Book. It has ALL the answers.”

Bonus scripture(Here is a portion of Isaiah 55. Check out the rest at http://www.biblegateway.com. It has some good stuff):
Isaiah 55New King James Version (NKJV)

It has been a few days since coming home from my writers conference held at Ridgecrest nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains. This particular conference is a revival of sorts for me, and I get a little blue when I return home.

I fellowshipped with people like me who have ideas they want to share and want instruction on how to do it effectively. I have worshipped, laughed and have had some thoughts validated. I met some incredible people who have incredible stories to tell.

But I can’t stay there in that mountaintop euphoria. I have to come down from the mountain.

Our Bible study lesson this Sunday at church was on the Great Commission from the book of Matthew, chapter 28. In verse 16 the 11 disciples went to Galilee to the mountain where they met Jesus. He told them to go and make disciples of all nations.

The disciples couldn’t stay on the mountain with Jesus, though I’m sure they wanted to. No, they had a mission that they could not fulfill by staying up there.

We have a mission that cannot be carried out up on the mountain at Ridgecrest. We must go, write, teach, preach and show the love of God to those we encounter, whether it be by screenplay, novel, devotion, Bible study, memoir, sermon, or non-fiction book.

Ready. Set. Go.

Matthew 28:16-20Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Great Commission

16 The eleven disciples traveled to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had directed them. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped, but some doubted. 18 Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always,to the end of the age.”

It was great to get back to my home church where we had two baptisms in our Sunday Morning Service. Buried with Christ and raised to walk in newness of life. A beautiful picture of a life that is changed by the cleansing we receive by coming to Jesus–whether we meet him on a mountain or in the lowlands.

In my personal Bible Study this morning I read from Psalm 90 verse 2,

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.

My husband is an enigma. He could fit into several Love Language categories.

They say you speak your own love language. If that is so, then my husband’s love language is Gifts. But he could also be Touch, Acts of Service, and Words of Affirmation. Because he is good at all of those.

He is definitely a gift giver. He loves to shop for other people and he does it well and would make an excellent personal shopper.

If your love language is Gifts then you feel loved when people give you something. It doesn’t have to be big or expensive.

The greatest gift was given many years ago just for you. You should feel so much love.

The song below says it perfectly.

“The story of amazing love. The light of the world given for us. Noel”.

John 3:16New International Version (NIV)
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Matthew 7:11New International Version (NIV)

11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Merry Christmas!

Here is my gift giver. We celebrate our 28th wedding anniversary on New Years Eve.

I’m obsessed with the FYI TV show Married at First Sight–a reality show that “scientifically” matches couples who will not meet each other until they are in front of the minister at their wedding.

I want these marriages to work, because I believe marriage is holy.

In his book THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MOSES, Athol Dickson says

“What if men, women, and the third thing we become when joined together–the “one flesh”–are somehow meant to be an earthly image and likeness of the three persons of God?”

So, what does my obsession with Married at First Sight have to do with the Five Love Languages series I started in my previous post?

Sonia and Nick (Sonic) quickly became my favorite couple in this latest six week “experiment”. Early on Sonia made it clear that her love language was words of affirmation. She needed to hear that she was special, appreciated and pretty. If she didn’t get those things from Nick, then she would not feel loved–her emotional love tank would not be filled. Harsh words, in particular, can be devastating, as we saw when Nick lashed out saying he didn’t find Sonia attractive. Her response was to move out, because she did not feel loved and probably at that moment hated Nick.

If your “Love Language” is Words of Affirmation you want to hear of your worth and beauty, but maybe you’re not hearing those things from the people you love.

Know this–God shows his love for you in these words:

1 Peter 2:9New International Version (NIV)

9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

1 John 3:1New International Version (NIV)

3 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

Psalm 45:11New International Version (NIV)

11 Let the king be enthralled by your beauty;

honor him, for he is your lord.

2 Corinthians 6:18New International Version (NIV)

18 And,
“I will be a Father to you,

and you will be my sons and daughters,

says the Lord Almighty.”[a]

Romans 9:24-26New International Version (NIV)

24 even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? 25 As he says in Hosea:
“I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people;
and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one,”[a]

26 and,

“In the very place where it was said to them,
‘You are not my people,’

Each year I choose a passage of scripture to meditate on each day–the same verses every day.

I wanted to imprint it on my mind like a TV or computer monitor would imprint a picture if the same picture remained frozen on the screen for a long time.

I started in 2014 with Psalm 23 — the Good Shepherd verses. In 2015 I chose Psalm 139. I’m still meditating on Romans 8: 38-39 for 2016.

It recently occurred to me that the verses I chose to read every day spoke to me because it revealed how God shows his love for me in my love language.

I wrote about my love language in a previous post. I feel loved when someone wants to spend time with me. This is called “Quality Time” in the book THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES by Gary Chapman.

God wants to spend time with me. His Word tells me so.

Stay tuned for future posts. I plan to share passages that meet the other love languages. Maybe you’ll find love in the pages of the Bible.

Psalm 23

4 Even though I walk

through the darkest valley,[a]

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

Psalm 139

7 Where can I go from your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence?

8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

Romans 8:38-39New International Version (NIV)
38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[a] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I am in awe of the men and women who enlist in the armed forces. Their bravery is something to be admired.

My pastor said when he joined the marines in 1966 that he was told at bootcamp that only 20% of the men with him would return alive. They were expecting them to go to Vietnam. I wrote a post about my pastor here.

My boss, a retired lieutenant colonel from the Marine Corps, hosts a Marine Corps birthday cake cutting every year in our office. He and another marine read the current letter from the commandant and then cut the cake with a sword. This is always something the office looks forward to celebrating with these proud marines.

In the last several months I’ve been reading non-fiction. For some reason, fiction hasn’t interested me as much and it shows in my inability to write my own fiction, but I’m working on it.

Amongst the non-fiction books that I’ve been reading is a series of biographies about veterans.

Another fascinating story, Hope Unseen: The Triumphant Faith of Scotty Smiley, I discovered accidentally when searching for another book in the Durham Library. Scotty was blinded with shrapnel from a car bomb. He has since gone on to earn a Master’s degree from Duke Univ. and teach at his alma mater, West Point.

And finally, I had the privilege in my writing career, to hear Jeff Struecker speak at the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference. Jeff’s battle story is found in the movie Black Hawk Down. He has written the book, The Road to Unafraid. I haven’t read this one yet, but I intend to.

The common thread in these books–faith and courage.

Our men and women in the military are all courageous, and I salute all who are serving and have served today.

Thank you for your service. I am truly grateful for your sacrifices.

I challenge my readers to read these books.

2 Timothy 1

7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.